CONCORD
Given the chance before last night's NCHSAA Class 3-A boys playoff game at Concord, Coach Howard West of Reagan probably would've been glad to take a four-point lead into the fourth quarter.
But he certainly wouldn't have expected the final quarter to turn out like it did for his team.
The Raiders were held scoreless for the first 6:34 of the fourth and saw Concord run by them for a 74-65 victory in the second round of the West Sectionals.
Reagan was outscored 15-0 before two free throws by Will Peay with 1:26 to play. By then, the Spiders had turned a four-point deficit into a 67-56 lead.
"They put a run on us and we didn't answer," West said. "That's what it came down to. We'd been answering everything they did all night long. Then they put that spurt. Usually it's the last team that gets a good one that wins it, and they did."
After shooting 55 percent (24 of 43) through three quarters, Reagan missed its first six shots of the fourth and committed nine turnovers.
Coach Scott Brewer of Concord felt his team finally wore Reagan down in the last eight minutes.
"The key in the fourth quarter was what happened in the first, second and third," Brewer said. "A lot of times people don't realize what we're doing. And tonight, because (Reagan) was so good, it took until the fourth quarter. I thought they ran out of gas. We had to play three quarters to get to the fourth tonight."
Concord took the lead for good at 57-56 on a 3-pointer by guard Jacquise Moore off a kick-out pass by point guard Roger Smith with 4:15 left.
The Spiders then pushed the lead to 11 when Smith capped the run by converting one his career-high 14 steals into a layup.
Peay made five straight free throws to close the gap to 69-61, but a free throw by Moore and a put-back basket by Chance Rucker (23 points) in the final minute put it out of reach.
"They played hard, made a few steals, converted them ... and they knocked down some jump shots, too, that I thought were pretty critical," West said.
The Raiders led 36-34 after a tight first half before pushing their advantage to seven on two occasions in the third quarter.
Two transition baskets by Peay and a 3-pointer by Brad Wham gave Reagan a 49-42 edge halfway through the period.
Concord (27-1) closed to a point behind at 51-50, but Hines scored five straight to push the lead back to six late in the quarter.
"They're just solid," Brewer said of Reagan. "I don't know how else to describe them. They've got fundamentally sound players and Howard West can coach. His teams are just always prepared."
Peay led Reagan (19-9) with 20 points, while Dedrick Hines had 15 and Ryan Brubaker chipped in 14.
"I'm so proud of my kids," West said. "We've got three seniors, but everybody else coming back.
"This is a tough place to play and Scott's got a good team."
Concord will play at Lake Norman in Friday night's sectional final.
Reagan 21 15 20 9 -- 65
Concord 19 15 18 22 -- 74
Reagan (19-9): Peay 20, McKnight 6, Pierce 2, Brubaker 14, Wham 7, Hines 15
Concord (27-1): Moore 14, Smith 12, Templeton 6, Rucker 23, Cannaday 7, Brenk 2, Gridine 8, Wishon 2
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